Tracing Quotations
Wilma Mankiller? Cherokee Precept? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Everyone faces major setbacks in life. Maintaining a constructive outlook is essential to being resilient and moving forward. The following guidance can be difficult to follow, but it is enormously helpful: No matter what situation you’re in, find something good about it. This advice has been attributed …
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Mark Twain? Albert Einstein? Lee Segall? Lee Segal? J. Millar Watt? John Peer? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: According to a clever quip it is better to have one watch instead of two. The quip has been attributed to humorist Mark Twain, physicist Albert Einstein, broadcaster Lee Segall, and others. Would you please explore this topic? …
George Bernard Shaw? Ogden Nash? Viva Begbie? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: I once heard the following humorous definition: Marriage — An alliance between two people: One can’t sleep with the window shut; the other can’t sleep with the window open. This definition has been attributed to the Irish playwright George Bernard Shaw and the U.S. …
Rudyard Kipling? Mrs. Mallowe? Mrs. Hauksbee? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The following quotation embodies an irrepressible optimism: I always prefer to believe the best of everybody. It saves so much trouble. The famous author Rudyard Kipling has received credit for this remark, but I haven’t been able to find a citation. Are these really his …
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Oprah Winfrey? Mike Patrick? Peter A. LaPorta? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: Failure is painful, but it also provides an opportunity to learn. An apparent defeat may be transformed into a victory by using hard-won knowledge to discover a different pathway to success. The prominent television producer, entrepreneur, and actress Oprah Winfrey concisely communicated this same …
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W. C. Fields? Clifford Terry? Corey Ford? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The famous comedian W. C. Fields apparently told a hilarious joke about whiskey. Here are three versions: (1) I always carry a flask of whisky in case of snake bite. I also carry a small snake. (2) I like to keep a bottle of …
Arthur C. Clarke? Tobias Dantzig? Robert Heinlein? Jerome Agel? Harold Faber? Apocryphal? Dear Quote Investigator: The science fiction luminary Arthur C. Clarke once said something like: the best way to find the limits of the possible is to go beyond them into the impossible. I have seen several different versions of this remark. Would you …
Mark Twain? Benjamin Disraeli? St. Swithin? Eliza Gutch? Charles Dilke? Charles Stewart Parnell? Robert Giffen? Arthur James Balfour? Francis Bacon? Anonymous? Question for Quote Investigator: Statistical analysis can provide deep insights into an issue. Yet, carelessness or duplicity can generate misleading results. A popular cynical adage communicates this mistrust: There are three kinds of lies: …
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Gertrude Stein? Alice B. Toklas? Glenway Wescott? William Styron? Anonymous? Dear Quote Investigator: Whenever I experience difficulty in a creative endeavor like writing or drawing I am reminded of the following expression: I have the syrup, but it won’t pour. The prize-winning author William Styron said something similar to this. Would you please help me …
Ernest Hemingway? Bernard Berenson? Apocryphal? Question for Quote Investigator: Ernest Hemingway’s classic novella “The Old Man and the Sea” has been exhaustively analyzed by critics and commentators. Beleaguered high school students have been coerced into composing essays about the tale. Unsurprisingly, the story has been transformed into a cornucopia for symbol generation. Yet, Hemingway himself …
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